Global Warming / Going Green

This post is not really about Global Warming.  What it is really about is reasons other than Global Warming to go Green.

Number one on the list of going Green from my perspective has little to do with Warming and everything to do with pollution.  Even if there is no potential in causing our climate to warm up, there is still massive damage from the pollution involved in our petroleum based power consumption.  Passing a poorly tuned diesel chugging up hill and breathing in the vapours will make you a believer that burning that stuff cannot be good for anyone.

The sheer amount of hydrocarbons spewed into the air every day and the fact that those vapours and particulates are going into the lungs of every living thing should give you pause.  It is a poison, and it is spewed everywhere.  True, the concentration is diluted unless you are inches from the exhaust pipe, but the effects of this as a poison are rarely discussed or researched.  The acidification of the oceans is a direct result of our use of petroleum, and that alone is reason enough to try and curb our dependence on it.

Coal is worse.

The cost of mining coal on the environment is harsh.  The cost of burning it is harsh, and the ash left behind is radioactive waste that is treated way more casually than it should be.

There is an environmental cost involved in most green power supplies, and that involves batteries.  The manufacturing of virtually all economical batteries involves hazardous chemicals and waste.  The waste is easier to contain and limit that that from petroleum, but there is still waste that needs careful containment.

From where I sit, way up in the cheap seats and lobbing opinions with not enough research, given the choice between any petrol based power generation and nuclear, nuclear wins. It has a smaller footprint and less damage done to the planet as a whole than anything done with hydrocarbons.  The next generation of nuclear power looks to be even better at limiting the amount of waste, which is the number one detractor, even though the current amount of radioactive waste is better than that from coal.

From what I can read, the best alternative energy right now is geothermal, followed by wind, then solar, then wave/tidal, then hydroelectric, then nuclear, then the various means of power from petrol/hydrocarbons. 

And now, we have reached a time when the Greener alternatives are getting cheaper, and the reasons oil is better are fading.  With a little luck the world's dependence on oil is about to take a dive, and I can hardly wait.